Il mistero del bosco

After all the delay this film suffered I finally got around to seeing Lucky McKee's second movie. His first, 'May', was weird but brilliant horror with some genuine shock moments. The Woods doesn't disappoint in either department. The film is set in 1965 and centres around Heather Fasulo (Agnes Bruckner) who is sent to an all-girl boarding school in the middle of the woods. Right from the start she suspects that something is different about the school and it doesn't help the teachers are all a tad weird, especially Headmistress Traverse (Patricia Clarkson). Her suspicion is raised when the girls at the school tell her the story of three witches who took over the school 100 years ago.

McKee's influences are obvious. From cult favourite 'The Evil Dead', Dario Argento's masterpiece 'Suspiria' and the supernatural Stephen King adaptation of 'Carrie.' He blends all these into an original little horror that is effective and interesting from start to finish. The first hour is actually very slow paced and in terms of horror there isn't a whole lot. That's not a bad thing, however, as it allows McKee to create a mystery around the central theme and develop the characters nicely. The last 20 minutes take a different stance, with gore galore and a neat twist which wraps up the movie nicely. The acting is good from all, Agnes Bruckner carries the movie well, Patricia Clarkson is subtle as the villain and Bruce Campbell makes a cool cameo. All in all 'The Woods' is a fine horror and I eagerly await McKee's next movie! 4/5